Site Menu

Sifnos -- A Collection of favorite villages

Sifnos is an entirely different kind of island
than neighbor Milos and even our home island of
Paros. It
may even be Karin's favorite! It is beautiful, green,
and mountainous, but we were most impressed with
the
cleanliness! No litter anywhere, the houses kept
up, even the farms were tidy! Not overdone, just
well kept. Sifnos is relatively small so the
tourism volume is low...and I think that keeps
this island more pure and more Greek.

This web site is not a guide to the best places
to stay, restaurants, or beaches. It is
presented as a personalized account that you can
use bits and pieces of to enhance your own
journey. With that in mind I have included only
a few highlights of a trip that Karin and I took
in June 2009. The photos here are just some of
the villages of Sifnos. There are more in
the photo journals that Karin created in Google
Photos. If you would like to follow that
report, click on the small photo below. Sifnos starts on
Day Four
The link to the next episode is in the
description or the caption of the last photo
in each album(click on small i symbol, if necessary).

Perhaps it is better to stay near Apollonia the
central town for easy access to the whole
island, but we selected a small pension in
Platys Yialos near the south end. The
whole island is only about 5 km wide and 15
long. So it is quite quick to get from one
village to another.

Platys Yialos has one street and a beach which
serves as a street.

Our first morning we took a short ride to Vathy
for breakfast. It was both beautiful and
relaxing.

It is difficult to convey the sense of Kastro
the cliff top village on the opposite side of
the island. It is ancient and shows it
with antiquities sitting everywhere. There
are no vehicles because it is all stairs.
Even the locals must carry their groceries from
a parking lot on the edge of town.

By the way we first directed to Sifnos by some
friends who are great walkers. While we
are not, we did see some scenic trails that look
like fun. Buy a quality map and you will
find them.

Off by itself at the north end of the
island is Heronissos. Looking at the map
we were a little concerned about all the twists
and turns. Our concern was all for
naught. If we would have read Matt Barrett's
site on the internet we would have realized: "A
visit to Heronissos used to be something that
only a select few could undertake. Namely those
with yachts or motorboats​. But with the new
road to the remote village finished, it's days
as a getaway for the rich or knowledgeable is
coming to an end and anyone with a car,
motorbike or even a bicycle can make the
journey"! Again beautiful and
relaxing; what more can I say.Sifnos is a potters island...and has
been forever.
Also in ancient times they had gold mines so their gifts to the
Delphi Treasury were solid gold eggs! It is
not known when pottery began on the island
though it is mentioned in the third century
B.C. and Pliny makes mention of Sifnos ceramics in
the first century B.C.. By the eighteenth
century potters from Sifnos were traveling all
over Greece selling their ceramics and in many
cases moved away from the island to become
potters in other towns and islands such as
Lesvos. There is even a colony of Sifnos potters
in Athens. Today there are still many who
practice the art of ceramics, just as their
fathers and grandfathers have. This is a
pottery factory...and yes, I did buy a piece!

A very whimsical Sifnos Chimney! I put it over a
candle and it is really pretty at night with all
the cutouts!

Click to enlarge

Sifnos is on the same ferry route from
Athens/Piraeus as Milos, Serifos, and Kimilos.
Of course, it can also be reached from Paros and
Mykonos and perhaps other islands depending upon
the year's ferry routes. So we recommend
it for an island hopper's itinerary. It is
the perfect size for scootering around to new
discoveries and did I mention that it is
beautiful and relaxing.

You can search for accommodation, restaurants
and travel guides with this Google Search box: